Der Blogger

"Enough is enough!" "This can't go on!" "This has to stop!" These were among the comments that came through the blizzard of commentary after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. We have heard these words before.

Wanderlust

As a travel destination, Germany has never been more popular. With tourist numbers forecast to rise for an eighth consecutive year, what is the country doing right to account for its thriving visitor numbers?

Akademia

For education experts, English language lessons have proven valuable in primary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. But the Alternative for Germany’s state parliamentary group in NRW have a rather different view.

Essen & Trinken

Police in the city of Osnabrück had to clear crowds in front of a new döner kebab shop on Tuesday, after about 150 hungry people packed the street outside, eager to get their hands on a döner for only €0.01.

Germericana

Many Americans have German ancestors — and that's also the case for actress Meghan Markle, who will be marrying Prince Harry, himself a descendant of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a German dynasty.

Prosecutors drop probe into NSA spying on Germans

The inquiry was opened after revelations in 2013 by fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden that the National Security Agency (NSA) and its British partner were conducting sweeping Internet and phone data surveillance, including in Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted angrily at the time to news that the NSA had tapped her mobile phone, telling Washington that spying between allies “is not on”.

To Germany’s embarrassment, news broke in 2015 that its own BND service had helped the NSA eavesdrop on EU targets including the French presidency and the European Commission.

Germany’s federal prosecution service said Thursday that it had ended its inquiry into “the possible mass collection of telecommunication data of the German population by British and US intelligence services”.

It said that although the services conducted “strategic signals intelligence” and tapped online communications, there was “no hard evidence” that they “illegally, systematically and massively” monitored German telecommunications and Internet traffic.

The prosecutors said their assessment was shared by Germany’s BfV domestic security service, which handles counterespionage; the IT security agency BSI; the NSA parliamentary inquiry; and the operator of a major European internet hub in Germany.

They added that the “so-called Snowden documents” had documented the US spy service’s “techniques and capabilities” but provided “no concrete evidence of actual espionage activities carried out by the NSA in or against Germany”.

Kultur

The German term "Heimat," often translated as "homeland," was long thought of as tacky, regressive, and even politically dubious. But since the election, German politicians across the spectrum are using it once again.

Das Kino

This month's Berlin film festival, Europe's first major cinema showcase in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, will shine a light on sexual misconduct in the industry, its director said on Tuesday.

Gesundheit

In the run-up to international World Cancer Day on Sunday, experts have said that about half of all cancer cases in Germany could be prevented by a healthier lifestyle. Across the country, around 500,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year. But experts say things like exercise could cut this figure in half. “Movement can […]